Human Journals Review Article August 2018 Vol.:13, Issue:1 © All rights are reserved by Thite Divya et al. Review on- Calotropis gigantea Keywords: Calotropis gigantea Linn, Procoagulant activity, Antimicrobial activity, Hepatoprotective effects, Wound healing, Anticonvulsant. Thite Divya1*, Wani Rakesh 2, Dhumal Kuldip 3, ABSTRACT 4 Shete Priya Calotropis gigantea is a medicinal plant having the major source of drugs. In fact, many of the currently available drugs Loknete Shree Dada Patil Pharate College of Pharmacy were derived either directly or indirectly from them. The Mandavgan Pharata, Pune. Maharashtra, India 411041. purpose of the present study was to evaluate scientifically the Submission: 19 July 2018 anticonvulsant activity of Petroleum ether. All parts of the plant Accepted: 27 July 2018 possessed enzymes with proteolytic and milk clotting activities Published: 30 August 2018 (except milk- clotting activity in root) which can be utilized in food industries and for medicinal purposes. Phytochemical screening reveals the presence of alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, triterpenoids, carbohydrates and saponins in the hydro-alcoholic leaf extract of C. gigantea Linn. The present review was focused an overall outline of the www.ijppr.humanjournals.com medicinal properties and biomolecules of C. gigantea and its future prospects for the further scientific investigation for the development of effective therapeutic compounds. www.ijppr.humanjournals.com INTRODUCTION Calotropis gigantea Linn is a perennial shrub commonly known as milkweed or wasteland weed. It belongs to family Asclepiadaceae and was evaluated for its anticonvulsant activity [1]. It is a large shrub growing to 4 m tall. It has clusters of waxy flowers that are either white or lavender in colour[2]. Herbs and plants have been in use as a source of therapeutic compounds in traditional medicinal system since ancient time. There is a continuous need of the development of new effective antimicrobial drugs because of the emergence of new infectious diseases and drug resistance[4]. The plant is reported for analgesic activity, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, anti-pyretic activity, insecticidal activity, cytotoxicity activity, hepatoprotective activity, pregnancy interceptive properties, purgative properties, procoagulant activity and wound healing activity[5]. Leaves are used in asthma, skin diseases like eczema. Juice is used in leprosy, syphilis and idiopathic ulceration etc. Fig 1: Calotropis gigantea plant Traditionally roots and barks of C. gigantea are used for all kinds of fits, epilepsy, convulsions in children’s and paralysis complaints[6]. Roots are reported to contain antipyretic activity, cytotoxic activity[5]. There are different types of wounds which range from mild to potentially fatal. Wound healing is the body’s natural process of regenerating dermal and epidermal tissues[7]. Many drugs that increase the brain content of GABA (gamma- aminobutyric acid) have exhibited anticonvulsant activity against seizure induced by MES Citation: Thite Divya et al. Ijppr.Human, 2018; Vol. 13 (1): 125-134. 126 www.ijppr.humanjournals.com (Methyl Ethyl Sulphate), PTZ (Pentylenetetrazol) and lithium Pilocarpine[8]. The plant resistant to variety of infectious diseases and to the extreme harsh conditions are partly attributed to the presence of hydrolytic enzymes of the latex especially proteases (Boller 1986)[9]. The genus C. gigantea (Asclepiadaceous) is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa (The wealth of India 1959). It is a common plant in Nigeria but it is more abundant in the northern part of the country (Sofowora 1984)[10]. In 1996 Reported that C. gigantea was used in traditional medicine as a purgative, anthelmintic, anticoagulant, anticancer as well as antipyretic, analgesic and antimicrobial agent[10]. MAIN FEATURE The plant grows very well in a variety of soils and different environmental conditions[11]. All parts of the plant have an abundance of milky latex. The buds and young parts are densely wooly, as are the underside of the leaves[12]. It is one of the few plants not consumed by grazing animal[11]. Presence of latex, extensively branched root system and thick leaves with waxy coverage are the xerophytic adaptations. Hence it is distributed in tropical and subtropical area of the world and throughout India[11]. TAXONOMY Table 1: Scientific classification of C. gigantea SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION Kingdom Plantae Order Gentianales Family Apocynaceae Subfamily Asclepiadoideae Genus Calotropis Species C. gigantea Citation: Thite Divya et al. Ijppr.Human, 2018; Vol. 13 (1): 125-134. 127 www.ijppr.humanjournals.com GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION C. giganteais native to India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen and Zimbabwe[17]. CULTIVATION AND COLLECTION It is a large shrub growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall. It has clusters of waxy flowers that are either white or lavender in color. Each flower consists of five pointed petals and a small "crown" rising from the center which holds the stamens[14]. Plants are tolerant of salt-laden winds. One hectare of ground stocked with plants 30 cm apart can yield 24 tonnes of green stems from which 260-350 kilos of fiber can be obtained. The plant is of great religious significance in India where it is sacred to the god Shiva. Plants can flower all year round but the main flowering is in the hot season[15]. MICROSCOPY Transverse sections through the midrib showed an upper and lower, single- layered epidermis that was externally covered with a thick, striated cuticle a few epidermal cells on both lower and upper surfaces, parenchymatous cells that were thin-walled and isodiametric to circular[16]. STEM Epidermis: Uni and multicellular hairs clothe epidermis almost completely. Cells are barrel to rectangular and are compactly arranged[17]. Cortex: The upper and lower epidermis was covered externally with a thick striated cuticle. Below the upper epidermis were three rows of elongated closely arranged palisade parenchyma[16]. Endodermis: Central cells were irregular in shape laticifers and vascular bundles were also present scattered in this region[16, 17]. Citation: Thite Divya et al. Ijppr.Human, 2018; Vol. 13 (1): 125-134. 128 www.ijppr.humanjournals.com LEAF Vascular tissue: The xylem consisted mostly of vessels and tracheids, and a strip of cambium was present between the xylem and phloem tissues[16]. Pith: Centre is occupied by thin walled parenchyma and also many latex vessels[17]. PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS Table 2: Phytochemical analysis of C. gigantea Plant Part Chemical Sr. No. Test Flower Bud Root Leaves constituent Mayer’s test 1 Wagner’s test + + + + Alkaloids Dragendorff’s test Chrysorbin test 2 + + + _ Glycosides Legal test Molisch test 3 Fehling test + + + + Carbohydrates Benedict’s test Xanthoproteic test 4 + + + + Proteins Libermann Burchard test Salkowski test 5 + + + + Steroids Sulphur test Shinoda test 6 + + + + Flavanoids Zinc dust test Liberman buchard sterol 7 + + + + Saponins reaction CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS In Calotropis giganteachemical constituent such as calotropin, Calotoxin, Giganteol α and β calotropeol, β-amyrin, Calotropisesquiterpenol, Calotropisesterterpenol [terpene derivatives], Calotropbenzofuranone, β-amyrin [aromatic product], Sapogenins, holarrhetine, Cyanidin-3- rhamnoglucoside, taraxastero and sucrose are present[13]. Citation: Thite Divya et al. Ijppr.Human, 2018; Vol. 13 (1): 125-134. 129 www.ijppr.humanjournals.com Fig 2: Structure of Calotropin Fig 3: Structure of Calotoxin Citation: Thite Divya et al. Ijppr.Human, 2018; Vol. 13 (1): 125-134. 130 www.ijppr.humanjournals.com Procoagulant activity Fibrinolytic activity Antioxidant activity Antimicrobial Calotropis activity Anti-inflammatory gigantea activity Linn Anticonvulsant Hepatoprotective effects Wound healing Fig 4: Medicinal properties of C. gigentea Linn. PROCOAGULANT ACTIVITY The latex of C. gigantea is reported to carry procoagulant (tending to promote coagulation) activity. The latex extract hydrolysed casein, human fibrinogen and crude fibrin clot in a dose dependent manner[5]. Recalcification time was determined according to the procedure described by Condrea et al. (1983). Fresh human blood was mixed with 0.11 M tri-sodium citrate in the ratio of nine parts to one. The mixture was centrifuged for 15 min at 500 g. The supernatant was used as PPP (platelet poor plasma)[9]. The crude extract hydrolysis crude fibrin clot strongly compared to trypsin and papain. Proteins present in the latex of C. gigantea are strongly proteolytic and responsible for procoagulant activity of C. gigentea[5]. FIBRINOLYTIC ACTIVITY Fibrinolytic activity was carried out using human blood clot and plasma clot as substrates. One hundred microlitres of EDTA (Ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid) 2 mg/ml treated human Citation: Thite Divya et al. Ijppr.Human, 2018; Vol. 13 (1): 125-134. 131 www.ijppr.humanjournals.com blood was mixed with equal volume of 100 mM CaCl2 and allowed to stand for 30 min to form clot[9]. ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY Antimicrobial activity of essential oil was performed using agar well diffusion method. The aqueous extract of leaves of C. gigantea was reported to possess antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus luteus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Where agar plate of